ESSEX, UK, FEBRUARY 1, 2006 -- GoldenPalace.com, the internet casino known for its eccentric eBay purchases, has won the auction for the famous watering can used to keep the Thames Whale wet in the futile attempt to save the doomed mammal from certain death.

The casino paid ?2050 for the can which is signed by several of the emergency workers that tried to save the whale when it wandered into the Thames River . The eBay seller promoted the item as a symbol of hope and a piece of history, as well as a chance to donate to a worthy cause.

The money will go to the British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR) who tried their hardest to save the animal but were ultimately unsuccessful.

?Although we are pleased to be able to donate this money to the [BDMLR], we are saddened by the tragic death of the Thames Whale,? said GoldenPalace.com CEO Richard Rowe. ?The eBay page for this item had nearly 300,000 visitors, proving that the whale captured the hearts of all the local residents. We commend the BDMLR and all those that tried to help the whale.?

The 16-18ft (5m) northern bottle-nosed whale is usually found in deep sea waters, and the relatively shallow waters of the Thames were a death sentence to the animal since it couldn?t be coaxed downstream back into deeper waters.

GoldenPalace.com has made headlines worldwide by winning a variety of unusual eBay auctions, several of which were for charity. Some of their most notable eBay purchases have been the Beckham Ball, Virgin Mary Grilled Cheese Sandwich, and Pope Benedict XVI?s used VW Golf. The casino has used these and other items to raise over ?1,000,000 for charities worldwide so far.

Comments on this eventOn February 02nd, 2006 at 11:55 AM Kim Sharpe said:

My daughter is taught by the previous owner Faye Burchell at Writtle College in Essex England. The attempted rescue cost the British Divers Marine Life Rescue ?100,000. This charity is supported by donations. The members who go out on rescues are simply teachers, office workers and vets who are not particularly well off. They were really worried about how the debt was going to be repaid. Faye put the watering can on Ebay to try and help towards the debt. There were a lot of false bids which caused an enormous amount of heartache to Faye her colleagues and BDMLR and her students. At one point we ALL believed that the debt was being cleared by the sale. However one by one these cruel prnksters pulled out and the price plummeted. A couple of days ago genuine bidders started bidding and we (including my class of 31 nine year olds have been watching the money creep up. We were overjoyed to see the final bid from golden palace.
My 16year old daughter is about to join BDMLR and she will be dragging me all over the country to help at weekends and holidays. All because I'm a good swimmer and have a tow bar on my car.
Thanks you Golden Palace. You are STARS!!!!!!!!On February 03rd, 2006 at 10:51 AM buy2ez.com said:

I love this! It is a great find fun story & exciting to see here! MichelleOn February 03rd, 2006 at 2:40 PM Caroline said:

Thanks Golden Palace for helping BDMLR in this way. The team are all volunteers and genuinely care so much about Marine WildLife.
If there are any big companies out there who can offer further sponsorship to BDMLR, these people really will put money to good use.On February 03rd, 2006 at 5:44 PM Goldengirl1985 said:

Wow that is great, glad to see that this was for a great cause saving a mammal....gg